Spain Dad, a baby blog

Most of the chairs still sat up-side-down on the tables in the hotel lounge except for the table in the corner where we sat and ate our breakfast. Alleke sat in front of a half-eaten bowl of oatmeal and sang at the top of her lungs, “Let every heart prepare him room, and heav’n and nature sing,” and then she would sing those two lines over again as one of the many songs in her repertoire that have no end.

I let her sing because the hotel appeared to be empty except for us and the waitress who was turning over chairs and setting tables. She gave Alleke a wink, then walked over and began to clear our plates.

“So you got stuck working on Christmas Day, huh?” I said.

“That’s right. My girls opened their presents on Sunday,” she said with a sigh. “They’re with their daddy and his family today.”

“We had our third flight canceled this morning,” I said. “We were hoping to be with family, but we’re in a hotel instead.”

The waitress smiled and turned to walk away.

“Yes, but at least you’re together,” she said.